Leadership skill training often includes time management training because we all want to learn how to do more in the 24/7 week we have. Somehow we have this belief that if only we could find the key to managing time better we could get more done, be more productive, more effective and have time to do all the things in our lives we want to do. Nonsense! We can’t manage time and frankly I think it’s difficult to even manage ourselves consistently. Now before you go off on me and tell me that time management is possible, let me state right up front that I do believe we can learn techniques that make us more efficient or show us ways we waste time. Little things we do that take only a few minutes add up over the course of a week or month. I get that. What I’m saying, however, is that the issue isn’t about learning to manage time. That’s treating the symptom. The core issue we face is learning how to deal with competing commitments, and we all have many of them.
We have competing commitments between our professional and personal lives—that goes without saying. We also have competing commitments in our professional lives. Today, for instance, I had to decide should I write this article or my blog posts or work on the marketing plan for my book? And one thing I enjoy that some of you don’t is that all my commitments are self-imposed. I don’t have a boss telling me what needs done or asking for something. So if we are going to teach something in leadership skill training, I suggest it’s about how to deal with competing commitments.
In order to learn how to deal with competing commitments, we first must identify what or why the challenge exists. Maybe it’s a values issue. Money, recognition, promotions, respect and a whole host of other values can enter into our decision-making process. Is it staffing…not have enough or the right staff to handle the workload? Communication is often at the core of the problem. You don’t know how to say no, you don’t ask enough questions so you end up with redos, or maybe you aren’t communicating your needs to others. Perfectionism causes many of us to spend more time on a task than is necessary. Leadership skills can be a factor. Maybe you don’t delegate well, or you micromanage others, or you don’t know how to manage up. Many factors in leadership impact how we deal with competing commitments.
I believe everyone should go through leadership skill training on how to deal with competing commitments. Time management techniques can help, but the essence of dealing with rival commitments begins with an exercise of self-discovery. We can’t extend our day or week, no matter how hard we try. What we can do is discover what and why we face the challenges we do with our commitments. Finding or managing time isn’t the answer.
© 2014 Incedo Group, LLC
